Commissioner of Prisons Sterling Stewart is advising his fellow prison officers to be vigilant after members of the service received substantial information about a hit man who was hired to “kill” several prison officers.
Prison officers claimed the “hit man” was allegedly hired by fellow inmates at a price of $50,000 a head to “eliminate” officers who were involved in a recent raid and lockdown of the facility in Arouca.
Up to late yesterday the names of only three prisons officers said to be named in the hit were released.
The T&T Guardian was reliably informed that the information was so troubling that there was a high-powered meeting yesterday between acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams, Stewart and other stakeholders to “investigate and deal with the matter.”
Prisons officers said the hit man was allegedly hired after last week’s search and lockdown at Golden Grove Prison, Arouca, in which five guards and some 25 prisoners were allegedly wounded.
Prisons officers said they were now living in fear since they claimed the hit man had already carried out a couple attacks in the last couple days but their colleagues escaped.
On Sunday night, gunmen allegedly kicked down the door of a probation officer who lives in Sangre Grande and who was on duty during the prison search. Luckily, the probation officer was not at home at the time of the invasion. The houses of three other guards were also shot at by gunmen this past weekend.
The hit man, who was a former inmate, reportedly lives in central Trinidad. Photos of the alleged hit man have since been circulated among the guards, warning them that the former inmate could be a possible attacker. The photos eventually surfaced on social media.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Stewart confirmed he was given reliable information concerning the situation.
Stewart said he had heard about the hit man and was now very concerned about the welfare of his officers.
“Yes I heard about it, the rumour was circulating among the officers. It came from an extremely reliable source.
“I want other agencies to be aware of the fight against crime and the safety of our country. I am encouraging officers to be extremely vigilant at this time,” he said.
He said prison officers were dedicated to their work and he congratulated them for their performance amidst resistance while performing their duties last week.
“While we were carrying out our lawful duty we started to get resistance when we carried out the search. We discovered a lot of contraband although we met with resistance,” he said of the lockdown exercise.
‘No issue with Muslims’
Noting some recent media reports, Stewart also said he wanted to make it clear that the organisation did not have a problem with members of the Muslim community within the system.
“We want people to stop making statements that we are targeting Muslims. We are not against any religion. We treat all humans the same.
“If you treat us with respect you get respect. Do unto others as you would have them do to you,” he said.
General secretary of the Prisons Officers Association, Gerard Gordon, meanwhile, reiterated his call for more to be done for his colleagues.
“This is just a perfect example of the extreme risks involved in being a prison officer in T&T, where you can loose your life just being an officer. That is unacceptable,” he said.
Efforts to contact acting CoP Williams were unsuccessful yesterday as he did not return calls to his mobile phone.
Also contacted yesterday, however, acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Anne Marie Alleyne said she was unaware of the situation.
“Members of the Prisons Service should make a report about that matter. I am not sure if a report was made,” she said when told of the situation.
Attempts to contact Minister of Justice Prakash Ramadhar, under whose ministry the prisons service falls, were also unsuccessful.